The Latest in the Wisdom Collection

Segyu Rinpoche is not your typical Tibetan monk. Born to Brazilian parents in Rio de Janeiro, he trained as an electrical engineer before becoming a master healer in Brazil’s rich healing tradition. Later drawn to the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, he studied for 25 years under the guidance of Gelug master Kyabje Lati Rinpoche (1922–2010), former abbot of Tibet’s Gaden Shartse Monastery. In 1983, shortly after arriving in the United States, he was recognized by the head of the Gelug school as holder of the Tibetan Buddhist lineage known as the Segyu.
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In the last few years, I’ve chosen to use the Metta Sutta, the Buddha’s sermon on impartial kindness, as my principal text. I’ve been particularly interested in teaching the Metta Sutta because I think it presents an overview of the entire practice path that the Buddha taught. It begins with the challenging and inspiring line, “This is what should be done by one who is skilled in goodness and who knows the path of peace,” and continues with instructions for morality practice, mental discipline, and the cultivation of wisdom. I love that this text is totally unequivocal. The cultivation of unshakable goodwill toward all beings, “omitting none”—a practice made possible through the “gladness and safety” that is the fruit of firm ethics—liberates the mind from “fixed views” so that its essential peace is undisturbed.
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I stand on the ice-black ground of December, tearing apart matted roots of coastal iris, preparing to sow dark chestnut redwood seed in deep wooden boxes. To my wicked delight, the last celebrated plants of summer have frozen to death and been carted off to our roaring compost heap. My mind is free to range the stark terrain of winter.
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By By Eihei Dogen Zenji Translated by Robert Aitken and Kazuaki Tanahashi

A fish swims in the ocean, and no matter how far it swims there is no end to the water. A bird flies in the sky, and no matter how far it flies there is no end to the sky. However, the fish and the bird have never left their elements. When their activity is large their field is large. When their need is small their field is small. Thus, each of them totally covers its full range, and each of them totally experiences its realm. If the bird leaves the air, it will die at once. If the fish leaves the water, it will die at once.Know that water is life and air is life. The bird is life and the fish is life. Life must be the bird and life must be the fish.Besides this, further steps can be taken. Thus there are practice and enlightenment, which encompass both eternal life and limited life.
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These days we have so many things to think about: our health, our family, our work, our dharma practice. When we don’t know how to deal with them, these worries can make our minds start to slowly shrink, becoming more and more narrow, and as a consequence more and more negative. Sometimes things start to overwhelm us and we feel trapped physically. A small problem can come to seem so big that we can’t deal with it at all. A good way to deal with this is to create space mentally. It helps relieve the tension and uptightness in your mind and in your body as well. Creating space is a very simple method. This is a technique we can apply to give ourselves space and freedom and relief from all our worrisome thoughts.
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